Not only did he see fit to give the lads the day off Wednesday when they flew back from Edmonton, he’s giving them Thursday off, too.

At first blush, you’d think a team that looked so utterly average in its last pre-season game could use as much practice as is possible but at many levels, the two days off makes much more sense.

They don’t play until Wednesday so there are five days of practice before the opener and they looked horrificly sluggish in that loss to Denver – at least they did on my television set – so an extra day of mental and physical rest was probably due.

And, truth be told, I bet more than half of ‘em find their way to the ACC sometime today to get up some shots, maybe do some weights or get treatment on bodies beaten and battered by a month of camp.

"Don't put too much into what happened at the end of pre-season," O'Neal said after a 105-94 loss to Denver on Tuesday. "A lot of things are evaluated by your starting five and the rotation we used didn't have Chris Bosh and I on the floor for more than 15 minutes.

"We ran about two plays so we wouldn't show (other teams) what we have and we ran some of those plays six straight times, which never happens in an NBA game. When the lights come up on the 29th, we'll be ready. I think we sent a good message during the pre-season."

Mitchell has no choice but to ride Calderon because there's such a drop-off when the Spaniard takes a breather.

Without Calderon on the floor, the Raptors don't have a capable hand to protect the basketball and attack offences. Calderon looms as indispensable as Bosh, perhaps even more, as the meaningful games approach.

Will Solomon's second go-round in the NBA has been a mixed bag of athleticism and indecision.

He is the ultimate tweener.

Roko Ukic needs -- and likely will get -- time at the end of the first and third quarters when Calderon is on the bench.

Industry insiders, however, are saying it's only a matter of time before TSN2 is added to the Rogers cable package. The prevailing thought is that consumer outrage alone will see that this gets done in the very near future.

"[The Raptors games] are being used as an excuse to try and push another network onto distributors and onto the backs of consumers, who are going to have to pay for it," said Score Media Inc. chief executive John Levy.

TSN maintains that it is operating the second channel in accordance with its licence. The CRTC is examining the complaints from rivals.

Bargnani averaged 14.7 points per game during the pre-season, second best on the team behind Bosh, but the most encouraging pre-season number for Bargnani was his 47.5-per cent shooting percentage, a major step up from his career mark of 40.5. It was a sign that Bargnani was stepping out of his three-point comfort zone and getting better looks from all over the court, even if he still looks poor in the post.

His defensive acumen is still suspect, though that will be helped by the presence of Jermaine O'Neal.